Wheat exports from the Black Sea region, which have climbed nine-fold in the past 20 years, could see further growth in the decade ahead, as the area has potential to boost yields as much as two-and-a-half times, a leading grains brokerage said on Wednesday.

Black Sea wheat exports were one of the biggest challenges faced last year by U.S. producers, weighing on benchmark Chicago futures, which slid this week to their lowest since 2010.

"There is big potential for growth in yields in the Black Sea region over the next 10 to 12 years," Nico de Deugd, chief executive of Vicorus, told Reuters in an interview.

"Russia is producing around 60 million tonnes of wheat with current yields. The output will reach 150 million tonnes if yields rise to the level of the European Union."

Russia, the world's third largest wheat exporter, produces about 2.4 tonnes of the grain per hectare, while crop yields in Ukraine are about four tonnes a hectare, de Deugd said. This compares with European Union yields of six tonnes per hectare.

Such an increase would build on the surge in wheat exports from the Black Sea region, which stood at 45 million tonnes last year, up from a figure of just 5 million in 1995-96, de Deeugd said on the sidelines of an industry conference in Singapore.

U.S. wheat has struggled to find business in recent months, with the market in negative territory for a fifth straight year.

Global wheat ending stocks for 2015/16 are projected to reach an all-time high, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has said, while U.S. wheat exports are forecast at a 44-year low.Egypt, the world's top importer, took the bulk of its cargoes from the Black Sea region last year, drawn by cheaper prices. The country set a tender on Tuesday to buy wheat for shipment from April 5 to April 14, and the market expects suppliers other than the United States to win the business.

Exporters of Black Sea wheat have also been making inroads into Asia, with sales to Indonesia, Australia's traditional stronghold. Ukrainian corn cargoes to China and South Korea have taken away U.S. business.

More investment in technology and infrastructure was on the cards, de Deugd said. "It has to come from better seeds and technology, and it is happening," he added.